I went to my sweet friend Ella's baby shower today and wore this new dress. I put it on layby a month or two ago and I'm a little bit in love with it. It's by Dear Creatures (and is on sale on their website at the moment). The baby shower was lovely (and the food was amazing) and I'm very excited to meet her new little girl in a few weeks.

I'm house sitting at the moment, but stopped by my apartment to tidy it up for my rental inspection tomorrow. I am looking forward to getting back to it in a little while, now that a friend has lent me her fridge and washing machine and the internet is being connected. I'll feel like a real person again!

Nice things lately:+ My work colleagues making me feel special when I had to work on my birthday this week (and enforcing that I wear a big, pink 'Birthday Girl' badge).+ Mint Slice biscuits.+ Lunch dates and afternoon teas with lovely friends.+ Being given a cute hand-me-down dress from a sweet friend.+ Finishing up some fun commissions (lots of pet portraits!).+ Raw, vegan cheezecake shared with Theo.+ Reading in bed.+ Listening to lots of Radio National (I'm an old person).+ Daily fur brushing sessions with the cat I'm minding; Harry the British Blue (so soft!).

I took this photo for a little guest post that never went ahead, so I thought I'd share it here instead. This handy little bag fits in just the essentials and I can't fill it too full and make it too heavy and cumbersome to cart around. It fits in my bike basket nicely or I throw it over an arm. I actually got it for free when Dangerfield had a buy-two-items-get-one-free sale and it gets a lot of nice comments, often from men, ha. An old, intoxicated Montenegrin man at work a few weeks ago saw me with it and said "It is so CUTE and HEART shaped... like YOU!". Thanks, I think!

Here are some pictures from a little wander I took around my neighbourhood (it was a race against time before my camera battery ran out). I've been trying to take more walks and it has been nice to get to know the area. I will say though, I haven't seen enough cats.

My suburb is quite lovely and just a little bit posh. There are three private schools within 200m of my house and thus mornings and afternoons are a bit hellish to drive down the main street (because posh kids don't catch the bus - they all get picked up by their parents in SUVs).

Here is a little wander around my new abode. I'm still on the look out for a little dining table and chairs and a nice rug and some other bits and bobs, but otherwise I have really enjoyed decorating and making myself feel at home. It is a cosy, sweet place and I feel very lucky that is it affordable, homely and well located (10 minutes bike ride into the city, 5 mins to work).

I got my couch a week or two ago on Gumtree, cheap as chips (and they delivered it!) and I'm a bit in love with it. Thankfully it is as comfortable as it is pretty.

I got my bed (on sale!) and mattress online a few weeks ago too from Deals Direct. The mattress came rolled up in a box and despite reading dozens of positive reviews about its comfiness, I was still quite skeptical when it arrived and I pulled it out of its box, rolled it out, cut open the layers of plastic and watched as it came to life. It made a loud hissing noise and sure enough, it eventually became a very comfy and fairly firm, pillow-top mattress.

My office area is still a bit of a mess at the moment, but I thought I'd include a photo of it anyway. I haven't brought over all of my mess from my old studio yet, but I'm getting there. I bought the cube shelving out of sheer storage necessity - I need to keep all of my supplies, stationery, tools and overabundance of papery items tucked away. Fabric cubes to put inside the shelves are stupidly expensive, so I think I'm going to find a way to fashion some myself. Also, there is a door behind that floral sheet into my lovely upstairs neighbours stairwell! I think I'll share some more photos of my office when it is properly set up.

My kitchen is little and neat and has a dishwasher I haven't even touched yet and I am still a bit dumbfounded by the controls on the oven, so I've been eating a lot of salads!

The little succulent above was a house warming gift from my friend Isis. I think I've inherited quite a lot of her succulents!

It has been nice to separate my books from C's (much larger collection) and see what I actually own and haven't even read.

The apartment was listed as having only one bedroom, however there are two large living spaces, so I use one as my office/bedroom and the little bedroom (not pictured) will serve as Theo's room when he comes to stay, though it is currently empty. I have a cute single bed for him similar to mine, but I don't have a mattress for him yet. The bedroom also has a walk in wardrobe, which I have already filled to the brim!

I've had a handful of friends over to visit since I moved in and one friend said he thought it looked a bit like I was sleeping in my lounge room, haha. I don't mind - I'm treating it a bit like a studio apartment.

Reading | The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide, Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham, The Secret History by Donna Tartt (I've been reading the last two books for months - partly because I'm a slow reader and partly because I'm savouring them) & Flow Magazine (my new favourite).Watching | A Most Wanted Man, Girls, Downton Abbey & Suits.Listening | The Bedroom Philosopher's Funemployed Series on Radio National (and lots of RN shows in general).Making | My little apartment a home, painting furniture and tinkering away at fun commissions.Consuming | Chocolate biscuits and chocolate hot cross buns. It's been a very chocolatey month!Looking forward to | Getting back into my course work (I'm several weeks behind unfortunately), going to see Darren Hanlon, finishing up commissions, spending lots of time with Theo and hopefully, when time allows, working on a new zine.

Why hello! I took an unexpected month off blogging, brought about by having no internet access at my new dwelling yet. The lack of internet has been a bit of a pain but I've been reading lots of good books, working on commissions, watching good shows and spending time with Theo. I am loving being there though; it has lots of natural light, is the perfect size, in a great location and it just makes me happy to be there, so that's a relief. I've had Theo over to stay several times already (though I don't have a bed for him yet so he sleeps in with me). I'm still without a washing machine, though a friend has lent me his bar fridge, which has been a godsend. Life is good and I am happy. Over the next month (and a bit) I'm actually house sitting back in our old neighbourhood so I'll be close to Theo (and have internet access and access to a washing machine!) which will be nice. By the time I get back to my apartment I'll have a washing machine, a single bed for Theo, a proper fridge and internet. Hooray.